Postby Dickie Dunn » Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:19 am
My wife and I spent last week in Cancun with some of her family. Weather wasn't great, but we spent most of the week in the rainforest, so it worked out. I had never been to Cancun before and was completely unaware of all of the awesome stuff to do outside the resorts. As much as I love just chilling on the beach, it was the outside activities that made the trip and are what I'll remember most. Don't think enough American tourists take advantage of these opportunities.
Resort: GR Solaris Cancun - nice rooms, great view, nice beach and pool area, mediocre food, pretty sure they make their drinks hoping you won't order another one. 3/5 stars, will stay at a different resort next time.
Outside Activities:
- Xcaret Park: Ecological park along the coast that features Mayan ruins, recreation of a Mayan village, snorkeling, speed boat activities, an underwater ocean walk, swimming with sharks, swimming with dolphins, and a swim through a natural underground river.
- Xplor Fuego: Xplor Park is an adventure park that is essentially across the highway from Xcaret. Its usually open from 9 to 5, but reopens from 5:30 to 11:30 as "Xplor Fuego". Going at night was pretty amazing. It kept the crowd small and it was raining in the middle of the rainforest, which gave off a Jurassic Park vibe. The park covers a decent amount of land, weaving its way through the rainforest and the underground caves. Activities include: a series of 7 ziplines above the rainforest canopy, the highest of which is 150 feet; a cave swim through a stalactite filled cave; rafting through an underground river; and finally, a 5 km course for amphibious vehicles, going through the jungle, over suspended bridges, and through water filled caves.
- Xenotes: This was easily my favorite place that we went to. Cenotes are sinkholes that are thousands of years old and were of great importance to the Mayans. A guide takes you to four different cenotes throughout the day where you get to zipline, snorkel, kayak, rappel, and cliff jump.
- Tulum: Site of Mayan ruins along the Caribbean Sea. In better condition, and in a better location for visiting, than Chichen Itza. There's something eerie and amazing about seeing the still red handprints of the Mayan painters that colored the settlement walls hundreds of years ago.